West High alums want to name performing arts center after 'the music man'

Bill Bissell had a gift for teaching music, took the old West High marching band to new heights and was loved by the West High students he taught from 1956 to 1970.

He was known as "the Music Man" to the students he taught. His legacy was enduring enough that he was honored as a "Bremerton hero" at a football game at Bremerton's Memorial Stadium in September.

Now, students of the late band director want a more permanent tribute to the man whose high school bands won many awards and were consistently ranked in the top five in the state. They'd like Bremerton High's performing arts center to be named after Bill Bissell, and they've presented a formal proposal to the Bremerton School Board.

"He meant a lot to us and the city of Bremerton," said Edmond Stewart, a West High alum. "The performing arts center was not named and we'd like to put a plaque there so people will know who he is."

Bissell's career at West High School in Bremerton spanned from 1956 to 1970. The city's two high schools — East and West — merged to become Bremerton High School in 1978.

He eventually went on to direct the University of Washington's band and is credited with helping to create "the wave" — where fans stand up and sit down in a wavelike roll along the stands. In one show he had the entire band take off their old uniforms to the song "The Stripper" after successfully raising money for new uniforms. He was at the UW for 24 years until his retirement in 1994. He died in 2001.

At West High, he led the marching band, concert band and the jazz band.

"Fourteen years here may not qualify as longevity," Stewart said, "but I submit that the quality is more important than the quantity."

During the September football game honoring, Stewart was struck by how few people knew who he was. After the game, Stewart and a group of West High alumni submitted a naming proposal to the school board.

In 2009, the gym was named after legendary East and Bremerton High Coach Les Eathorne and the court was named after Bremerton and West High Coach Ken Wills. Eathorne coached boys basketball at East High and Bremerton for 41 years, winning back-to-back state championships in 1973 and '74. Wills coached basketball and track at Bremerton High School and West High School for 28 years from 1936 to 1962, taking 15 teams to state tournaments and winning a championship in 1941. He was also named the Coach of the Century by the Kitsap Sun in 1999.

"Bissell was like our coach," Stewart said. "He convinced us we were No. 1."

Stewart and his fellow alumni say they feel a responsibility to make sure Bissell is recognized.

"He is on the shortlist of people who meant the most to the city of Bremerton," he said.

The group's request initiates the naming process. A committee is then selected to study the request and issue a report to the school board. The public is then requested to weigh in.

The school board makes the final decision.

Stewart doesn't think the proposal is controversial.

"He loved Bremerton he commuted for 8 years to UW (from Bremerton) so his kids could go to school here."